City Limits to Hiking Trails

Just because you live in the city, it doesn’t mean you’re far from
the Great Outdoors. Four hikes within reach of the city limits.

City life may mean we spend most of our days in towns and cities, but
as our modern metropolises have grown, so has our proximity to endless
miles of extraordinary trails.

Hit the road for about half hour out of almost any of our biggest
cities and you can be huffing and puffing your way through some
gorgeous scenery on the trail. Sometimes all you need is a couple of
hours and a fresh perspective to put a new spring in your step. We
present you with four of our favorite hikes that aren’t too far afield.

Drive just over an hour south from downtown Tucson and you’ll be
swapping concrete buildings for granite peaks and the desolate
grandeur of Elephant Head. A huge craggy peak reached by an unmarked
but well-worn trail, its summit will reward you with epic views of the
Santa Rita Mountains to the east and southern Arizona from every angle.

There are two starting points. Begin from Chino Canyon for the
longer, harder hike, but for a shorter challenge start at the Agua
Caliente Canyon. Both hikes will get your legs pumping and your blood
flowing. Along the way you’ll take in the ruins of the old Elephant
Head Mill, the abandoned Quantrell Mine and at its peak, the bizarre
but brilliant Elephant Shrine, framed by Baboquivari Peak in the
distance. The kind of view the word breath-taking was created for.

Just one of a huge tangle of trails covering the 2,492 acres of
Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve set in Darien, an easy half hour cruise
southwest of downtown Chicago.. Wrapped around the Argonne National
Laboratory, the main trail is wide, flat and easy to proverbially (and
literally for that matter – signage is haphazard!) get lost in for as
long as you feel like it.

Created in the wake of the Wisconsin Glacier, this is real back to
nature stuff. Overhead, Oak Maple’s canopies of green create
spectacular light effects, filtering rays to the moss-covered forest
floor. The terrain is crisscrossed with streams, 740 native plant
species and more than 600 animal species from birds to mammals, fish,
reptiles, amphibians and more. You’ll be sharing your hike with
bikers, horseback riders and in the winter, cross-country skiers – but
that sure beats the cars and trucks only minutes away in Chicago.

Probably the best way to experience New England’s famous Atlantic
coastline, the 3.5 mile Cliff Trail beginning in Newport, Rhode Island
is a must for those who love being near water. The trail eases you in
with the first mile or so before challenging you a little more from
Ledge Road onwards.

With its natural rocky path weaving between cliffs that rise to
approximately 70-feet high, it’s an East Coast hike like no other.
Make your way across mesmerizing vistas and long winding public
pathways before you hit the rocky shoreline where the view of New
England’s coastline makes the whole thing worthwhile. But beware: the
first two thirds are paved, but the final third gets rockier along the coast.

Beginning at First Beach and ending at Bailey’s Beach, this hike
shouldn’t take you longer than around two-and-a-half hours (unless, of
course, you stop often to take in the views and soak up the salty air
- which is recommended).

This short but steep hike sits in an area of great ceremonial
importance for the Native American Chumash people. In particular, the
Cave of Munits with its enormous and impressive chimney, was home to a
powerful shaman. It’s a mysterious and atmospheric place not to be missed.

The walk up to the cave follows an easy dirt track, and once up
close requires some climbing over steep rocks to get inside and revel
in its cathedral like size. Once you’ve soaked it all in, head through
the cave and up the super steep mountain over faint trails to crest
Castle Peak. There, you’ll be met with a startling view that reaches
all the way to the LA skyline on a clear day. Magic.